When trying to lose weight and burn excess fat the last thing you want to be doing is wasting time. This article will explain to you what weighted exercises are best for weight loss, why these exercises are so effective and how to place them in your fat loss plan.

What makes a weight loss exercise effective?

This may seem like a question which is going to lead into a complicated answer, but it really isn't. The key to any efficient fat burning move is the amount of muscles you use per repetition and the level of intensity at which you perform it. Remember your body will also use calories to repair your body for days after you workout when using weights.

To lose weight you need to burn more calories than you consume on a daily basis, simple! Your body burns the most amounts of calories when using its muscles. So taking this into account, to lose weight in the quickest time you need to be performing exercises that moves over a series of joints and a collection of muscles, if not all of your muscles (Compound exercises). As you get competent with the movements you need to increase the weight, this will develop the muscle and thus create muscle definition / Tone.

In addition to this as a last point, remember that your legs are a powerful fat burning furnace, purely because of the size and strength of them compared to any other body part. Don't neglect them and don't be put off when they ache!

Below is a list of exercises set into 3 section (Beginner, intermediate, advanced).

Beginner weight loss exercises that are simple and effective

These are the body's basic functional exercises. They teach you how to move through your natural range safely by conditioning your joints and developing the correct motor skills (The way your body moves). In addition to this, these basic exercises will set you up to progress onto the next stage and leave you with sculptured, toned muscles once the fat is eliminated. As well as using the below weighted exercises you should mix in cardio in the form of continuous training and short interval sprints.

* Once you have progressed through to the next stages (intermediate and advance) don't forget to still include the simple exercises as they are still effective weight loss tools. Just increase the weights and intensity, by including them in supersets / tri-sets.

· Squat

· Squat and press

· Static lunges

· Dead lift

· Dead lift curl

· Dead lift curl and press

· Press up

· Dumbbell swing

· Burpee

Intermediate weight loss exercises

Developing on from your basic level, these set of movements become more dynamic. By doing this we are placing our muscles into greater stress which will result in increased muscle definition. Furthermore it will take your fitness and endurance to the next step. To get the most out of your weight loss programme you should start adding supersets (Performing two exercises one after each other) and increase your interval sprints. This will ensure that you maintain your progress.

· Squat and row (cables)

· Alternate dumbbell swing

· Alternate lunges

· Walking lunges

· Burpee variations

· Dumbbell snatch

· Dumbbell clean and jerk

· Cross body snatch

· Weighted ski

Advanced weight loss exercises

Now you're at the stage where your fitness and endurance should be at a high level and you can perform supersets and sprints efficiently, with a level of ease. Taking this into consideration we need to raise the bar again by including Tri-sets (performing 3 exercises continuously one after each other). This will get you lungs burning and really test your stamina. Obviously with such an intensive workout the fat will drop of you.

· Burpee Variations with equipment

· Alternate dumbbell clean and jerk

· Alternate dumbbell snatch

· Plyometric jump variations

· Pull ups

· Dips

*Don't forget you should mix and match all the exercises through the levels above to maintain a constant weight loss and making sure that your body doesn't adapt to your training. If your body does adapt to your training it will result in a reduced fat burn, so keep on your toes and vary your routines.

How to use weights in a weight loss routine

A weight loss workout should be treated like circuit training. The biggest problem most people make is that they take too much rest or set the workout out so they perform weights first, cardio after (or other way round). A fat burning session should consist of cardio and weights mixed up. A quick example of this is shown below.

This simple workout jumps from compound weighted exercise to cardio just like a circuit would, but on the gym floor. It will turn your body into a fat burning furnace!

For more information on how to use cardio when your goal is weight loss, check out the "Cardio for weight loss" article. Also take a look at the weight loss diet section and recipes section to make sure you're not wasting the hard work. We also have herbal weight loss supplements (Herbal life), which are completely natural in their ingredients, helping you shed the pounds safely.